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IRAQ WARS
Iraq violence kills eight, including senior anti-terror cop

Iraq president calls on parliament to meet on election law
Baghdad (AFP) Dec 3, 2009 - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has called on parliament to hold an emergency meeting on Saturday in order to vote on a draft law to govern legislative elections, a senior official said. "Talabani asked that an emergency parliamentary session be held on Saturday to approve a proposal by the electoral commission concerning the redistribution of seats in each province," deputy speaker Khaled al-Attiya told AFP on Thursday. On Wednesday the president urged MPs to quickly pass the law to govern the polls, without which the election cannot go ahead. "We want to pass this law quickly, so that the election is not delayed for a prolonged period," he told the state-funded Al-Iraqiya television channel.

The United Nations on Wednesday proposed February 27 as the most "feasible" date for Iraqi parliamentary elections, nearly a month later than the deadline set by the constitution. No definitive election date has yet been set. Iraq's parliamentary polls had originally been scheduled for January 16 but have been delayed because of a failure by members of parliament to agree on a law to govern the vote. In principle, Iraq's constitution requires that the poll be held by the end of January. Last week, MPs passed an amended version and it is currently before Iraq's three-member presidential council, composed of Talabani, a Kurd, Sunni Arab Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi and Shiite Vice President Adel Abdel Mehdi. Only one of them needs to veto the bill for it to be sent back to parliament again. Hashemi last month vetoed a draft election law that MPs had agreed and has threatened to do so again with a new text.
by Staff Writers
 Tikrit, Iraq (AFP) Dec 3, 2009
 Attacks in Iraq on Thursday killed eight people, including a senior anti-terror officer who led a key fightback against Al-Qaeda in his province, police said.

Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed al-Fahel, the head of the Saleheddin province anti-terror squad, and at least three of his bodyguards were among five people killed by a suicide bomber in Tikrit, the hometown of executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

"The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, who was wearing a vest packed with explosives," said Colonel Abdel Haadi of the Salaheddin joint operations command.

Seven people were wounded by the blast in a jewellery store, which struck at around 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) in Tikrit, 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of Baghdad, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Fahel, who was in his 40s, was one of the leaders of a campaign against Al-Qaeda in predominantly Sunni Arab Salaheddin which began in 2007 and helped eradicate the terror network's presence in the province.

The officer, who was also a policeman during Saddam's rule, had previously escaped several assassination attempts.

In another incident in northern Iraq, two soldiers were killed at a checkpoint in the town of Mohallabiyah, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of the main northern city of Mosul, when gunmen opened fire on them before fleeing.

In the capital Baghdad, one person was killed and six wounded by a bomb in Adhamiyah, a predominantly Sunni Arab northern neighbourhood, an interior ministry official said.

Violence across Iraq dropped dramatically last month, with the fewest deaths in attacks since the US-led invasion of 2003.

Official figures showed that a total of 122 people were killed last month -- 88 civilians, 22 policemen and 12 soldiers.

Those figures were down markedly from October, when violence killed a total of 410 people across Iraq, a substantial number of them in twin suicide bombings near government offices in Baghdad that killed more than 150 people.

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IRAQ WARS
February 27 Iraq election date 'feasible': UN
 Baghdad (AFP) Dec 2, 2009
 The United Nations on Wednesday proposed February 27 as the most "feasible" date for Iraqi parliamentary elections, nearly a month later than the deadline set by the constitution. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, meanwhile, met Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and called on members of parliament to quickly approve a law to govern the polls, without which the election cannot go ahead. ... read more






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